Wellbeing 101: How to Stay Happy, Healthy and Positive During these Uncertain Times We Are All Living and Working In
Back in 2019, Silke and Claire (founders of Eduease4Schools - providing educational, emotional & physical support for teachers, parents & children) realised there was a need for pupils, parents and staff’s mental health and wellbeing to be cared for. Over the following two years, they have adapted their ways of helping these people, from being face to face to, just like you, having to go ‘virtual’. Here they’ll share their stories and advice for you as school owners, to maintain your own wellbeing and happiness in what has been a turbulent and uneasy 18 months.
Over to you, Silke and Claire!
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Why You Should Take the Time for Self-Care
“In the current climate, lots of changes have had to be made. For a start, as a therapist, I could no longer go into schools and treat the pupils.” – says Silke - “However, my pupils still needed me more than ever, so I reinvented myself on Zoom – perhaps similar to what you have all had to discover and learn. I offered group and one-to-one consultations this way.”
In these uncertain times we have all experienced over the past 18 months or so, one thing has remained a constant – you.
You as a person, the most important being in the world to you.
How many of us can put our hand on our heart and say we have put ourselves first during these times? Very few, we imagine. It is challenging to put yourself ahead of others; yet if we don’t, others can suffer as a result.
Back To Basics – Take Care Of Your Routines
The huge changes businesses, educators and pupils have had to make since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic have had both positive and negative impacts on people.
The way businesses are conducted has gone from in person to online; similarly teaching has been forced to follow the same route.
Yet everyone’s drive and enthusiasm has had to maintain, if not increase, in strength. For many, keeping happy and healthy in the face of these changes and momentums has been tough.
There are many small, subtle yet effective ways we can help keep ourselves happy and healthy, thereby looking after ourselves and in a non-selfish way, putting ourselves first.
The primary way is having and maintaining your own routine – whatever that looks like to you. If we rewound the clock 18 months to 2 years, what was your daily routine like? From first thing upon waking up to the last thing before falling asleep, what always happened that made you feel positive, refreshed, alive?
A simple routine to re-implement back into your life is the food you are placing, consciously or not, into your body. It’s a good idea to ask yourself those questions:
Have you increased the amount of caffeine you have drunk?
The amount of refined sugar in foods and drinks?
Has your fresh fruit and vegetable intake reduced as you have been forced to work from home and have slipped into the ‘cannot be bothered to make anything healthy as it’s only me who sees what I am eating now’ mindset?
Are you regularly drinking enough water?
As a first step, take one area that you can change easily – maybe alternating between tea/coffee and a glass of water? Make that one change for a week, before trying to change anything else.
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Don’t Delay Getting Professional Help
The pandemic has increased the need for mental health resources. One of the main reasons that people are reluctant to reach out for help is because they are embarrassed or don't want others to know they are not okay. But, this stigma is being broken down with so many people suffering from anxiety and depression, which in turn encourages them to seek help.
You can surely find professional help somewhere in your vicinity but going out and seeing a stranger face to face while sharing your vulnerabilities might be a bit overwhelming sometimes. Happily, there’s also possibility to seek help online, especially now when many therapists and other professionals went online (just like the rest of the world). We also decided to hold our workshops online in order to be able to reach people who needed this kind of support.
At Eduease4Schools, we now run workshops via Zoom for pupils, parents and staff. They are no longer hands on like Reflexology, but they are equally as helpful due to the positive feedback which we have received. Everyone found the deep breathing exercises really helpful because, due to all the anxiety most people had to face, they stopped breathing deeply.
One of the methods we are using is called Feldenkrais. In its core, it focuses on awareness through movement; using very small movements to give you maximum ease and awareness when performing tasks, such as turning around and reversing the car. It keeps your body in alignment and free from stresses we carry in a physical way.
Our Online Feldenkrais and Wellbeing Workshops can be attended from the comfort of your own home without judgement, where you can turn off your camera if you so wish and still gain the benefit of the course.
Both Feldenkrais Workshop and our Wellbeing Course are very popular with parents and teachers. For the Course we’ve invited an additional expert to advise on sleeping patterns/habits. He focused his presentation on not only providing a whole wealth of knowledge, but also providing opportunities practical demonstrations and implementations.
It's important for you to know, that if you decide to join any online wellbeing workshop, your instructor will introduce you to the theory and also present to you the proper way to perform the activity.
Our workshops left teachers and parents well-balanced, calm and ready to implement the skills learnt to lead a more emotionally and physically balanced life. We strongly recommend that you try out a mindfulness workshop yourself, worth giving it a go!
Take A Deep Breath – Two Exceptionally Effective Breathing Techniques For Stress And Anxiety
One exercise people find really helpful is the ‘Colour Breathing’ technique, which is very easy to use, no matter where you are and what you’re doing when the stress is building up:
If you are stressed, worried, anxious, etc., you simply give that negative emotion (stress, sadness, etc.) a colour, any colour, and start breathing it out.
You then breathe in the opposite colour, which is the opposite emotion (happy, calm, relaxed etc)
Another breathing technique is the ‘Balloon Breathing’:
Here, you breathe in for 2 counts, hold for 2 counts, breathe out for 2 counts and hold again for 2 counts.
Then you increase and breathe in for 3 counts, hold for 3 counts, etc.
This length of breath and hold can be repeated or increased, to holding for 4 counts, 5 counts, as high as you can comfortably go.
The two methods can be varied throughout the week, helping you to change your negative state instantly, so that you can be in control of your emotions instead of your emotions being in control of you. You might find that you are:
less tired and have more energy because you breathe deeper and oxygen can now flow to all the cells and/ or
in overall a much better mood.
Conclusion: Find A Mindful Routine That Works For You
Finding a method and routine to keep yourself healthy, both physically and mentally, is paramount to keeping your dreams alive. The change in working conditions means many of us now spend hours in front of a screen rather than physically in a classroom/ office/ meeting room environment. And that takes a toll on both our physical and mental condition.
To prevent yourself from falling into all the dark places, try researching active mindfulness methods and connect with nature. See what makes you feel your best!
Will it be yoga, movement meditation or walking your dog without listening to anything? Test out a few slow, mindful activities and see what sticks.
Spending 5 to 10 minutes a day being at one with yourself, perhaps using a meditation method, or just sitting somewhere quiet where you can just be you, your brain free of thoughts… Doesn’t that sound like a luxury and a definition of happiness? We strongly encourage you to try out some mindful activities and watch the benefits!
If you feel like you could use some support when it comes to your wellbeing and happiness, or if you’re interested in learning more about the Feldenkrais Method or meditation, feel free to reach out to Silke and Claire via their website, Facebook, or Instagram.
About the authors
Silke and Claire both have experience in primary school teaching. They decided to form Eduease4Schools as a way of revolutionizing the mental health, wellbeing, and education of children, staff, and parents through various methods.
Silke is a reflexologist and energy worker. She helps people with obstacles that are holding them back, and she teaches Feldenkreis training. Her pupils learn techniques that encourage free-flowing movement.
Claire is a current supply teacher. She has worked in a variety of primary schools across the South-West and Hertfordshire: from small village schools to 3-form entry schools as well as a SEMH school.
